Proxima Centauri: The Closest Star
Explanation:
Does the closest star to our Sun have planets?
No one is sure -- but you can now
follow frequent updates of a
new search
that is taking place during the first few months of this year.
The closest star, Proxima Centauri, is the
nearest member of the
Alpha Centauri star system.
Light takes only 4.24 years to reach us from
Proxima Centauri.
This small red star, captured in the center of the
featured image by the
Hubble Space Telescope,
is so faint that it was only
discovered in 1915 and is only visible through a telescope.
Telescope-created X-shaped
diffraction spikes surround Proxima Centauri,
while several stars further out in our
Milky Way Galaxy are visible in the background.
The brightest star in the
Alpha Centauri system is
quite similar to our Sun,
has been known as long as recorded history, and is the third
brightest star in the night sky.
The
Alpha Centauri system is primarily visible from
Earth's Southern Hemisphere.
Starting last week, the
European Southern Observatory's
Pale Red Dot project
began investigating slight changes in
Proxima Centauri
to see if they result from a planet -- possibly an Earth-sized planet.
Although unlikely, were a
modern civilization found living on a planet orbiting
Proxima Centauri,
its proximity makes it a reasonable possibility that humanity could
communicate with
them.
#PaleRedDot :
Follow the search for planets around Proxima Centauri.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
